My profile
Biography
I am a Third Century Research Fellow in Language and Social Justice in the Manchester Centre for Research in Linguistics and School of English. My research focuses on the mainstreaming of the far right, centring principally on the role that mainstream actors from politics and media play in normalising far-right discourse. I am interested in how we can counter rather than mainstream injustice and inequality.
Prior to my current role at MMU, I completed my PhD on far-right mainstreaming during the Brexit referendum at the University of Bath, before securing an Irish Research Council Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellowship at Maynooth University.
I have published articles and chapters on the topics of mainstreaming, far-right discourse, populism, methodology and research ethics. My first book, published by Palgrave in August 2025, outlines a novel approach to combining different forms of discourse analysis. I have a second book contract with Bloomsbury on the mainstreaming of the far right, set to be published in 2026. I have been interviewed about my research by national and international media outlets, such as Al Jazeera, France24, Euronews, BFM Radio and RTV Slovenia.
Research outputs
- Books (authored/edited/special issues)
Books (authored/edited/special issues)
Brown, K. (2025) Discourse Theory, Critical Discourse Studies and Corpus Linguistics A Practical Guide. Springer Nature.
- Chapters in books
Chapters in books
Brown, K. (2024) 'Researching the far right: towards an ethics of talking ‘about’.' In Vaughan, A., Braune, J., Tinsley, M., Mondon, A. (ed.) The ethics of researching the far right: critical approaches and reflections. Manchester: Manchester University Press, pp. 379-390.
Goyvaerts, J., Brown, K., Mondon, A., Glynos, J., de Cleen, B. (2024) 'The populist hype.' In Stavrakakis, Y., Katsambekis, G. (ed.) Research Handbook on Populism. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 527-539.
Brown, K., Mondon, A., Winter, A. (2021) '‘I’m not “racist” but’: Liberalism, Populism and Euphemisation in the Guardian.' In Freedman, D. (ed.) Capitalism's Conscience: 200 Years of the Guardian. London: Pluto Press, pp. 274-291.
- Media
Media
Brown, K. (2025) Keir Starmer’s immigration plans: research shows you don’t beat the far right by becoming them.
- Internet publications
Internet publications
Brown, K. (2024) Here Comes the Sun: Can the UK General Election Really Inspire Hope?. https://www.illiberalism.org/here-comes-the-sun-can-the-uk-general-election-really-inspire-hope/.
- Journal articles
Journal articles
Brown, K., Newth, G., Mondon, A. (2025) 'Researching and Understanding Far-Right Politics in Times of Mainstreaming.' Journal of Race, Ethnicity and Politics,
Brown, K., Vaughan, A. (2025) 'Talking ‘about’ the far right as researchers: between responsibility, safety and neoliberal success.' European Journal of Politics and Gender,
Brown, K., Newth, G. (2025) '‘Post-fascism’, or how the far right talks about itself: the 2022 Italian election campaign as a case study.' Critical Discourse Studies, pp. 1-21.
Brown, K. (2025) 'Perceptions of the ‘mainstream’ and the mainstreaming of the far right: from Ed Sheeran to Keir Starmer.' Journal of Political Ideologies, pp. 1-22.
Shuttleworth, L., Brown, K., Mondon, A. (2025) 'The pretence of the cordon sanitaire: non-collaboration as a distraction from discursive congruence.' Journal of Contemporary European Studies, pp. 1-18.
Brown, K. (2024) 'New opportunities for discourse studies: combining discourse theory, critical discourse studies and corpus linguistics.' Journal of Language and Politics, 23(4) pp. 473-495.
Brown, K., Mondon, A., Winter, A. (2023) 'The far right, the mainstream and mainstreaming: towards a heuristic framework.' Journal of Political Ideologies, 28(2) pp. 162-179.
Brown, K., Mondon, A. (2021) 'Populism, the media, and the mainstreaming of the far right: The Guardian’s coverage of populism as a case study.' Politics, 41(3) pp. 279-295.
Brown, K. (2020) 'When Eurosceptics become Europhiles: far-right opposition to Turkish involvement in the European Union.' Identities, 27(6) pp. 633-654.
- Non-peer reviewed articles / reviews
Non-peer reviewed articles / reviews
Brown, K., Mondon, A. (2022) The role of the media in the mainstreaming of the far right.